UNITSEVEN

INTERNALDEVELOPMENTSANDEXTERNAL
RELATIONS, 1941–1995

7.1. Post-1941 Imperial Period

7.1.1. Restoration and Consolidation of Imperial
Power and External Relations
A. Ethiopia and Britain

 In the post-1941 period, Britain recognized Ethiopia’s status as a

sovereign state with mutual diplomatic accreditation, but it continued
to exercise the upper hand.
 The British considered Ethiopia Occupied Enemy Territory
Administration (OETA).
 Emperor Haile-Selassie I was forced to sign with the British the 1942

and 1944 agreements.

The 1942 agreement
 gave Britain a final authority over Ethiopia’s foreign affairs, territorial

integrity, administration, finances, the military, and the police.

 The British minster in Ethiopia enjoyed precedence over other foreign

diplomats in Ethiopia
 British citizens held key posts in Ethiopian administration as advisors

and judges
 they maintained total control over the country’s police force, which

was set up in February 1942.

 Britishaircraft had exclusive aviation rights
 the emperor had to obtain approval from the Commander

in Chief of the British Forces in East Africa, Sir Philip

Mitchell, to implement sovereign matters.
 Britain also decided on disposal of Italian prisoners of

war and civilians and the administration of Italian

properties.
 the British assumed control over currency and foreign

exchange as w ell as import-exports.

 The Emperor resented such restrictions to his powers

and made some diplomatic engagements. With this and

the help of the USA and friends of Ethiopia such as
Sylvia Pankhurst, Britain relaxed the restrictions.
 The second Anglo-Ethiopian agreement, signed in 1944,
shows some of the concessions the emperor won from Britain.
 According to this agreement,
 The priority accorded to the British minster over all other
foreign diplomats in Ethiopia was lifted
 The Ethiopian government could now employ non-British
foreign personnel
 It regained control over a section of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti
railway
 The British also agreed to evacuate their army from the region
once they equip Ethiopia’s military force
 Britain did not, however, yield to Ethiopia’s territorial demands
during the 1944 agreement.
 The Ethiopian government requested Eritrea and Ogaden as
part of the Ethiopian empire.
 Britain insisted that Ogaden should be merged with Somalia
to form what they called “Greater Somalia”.
 Similarly, they wanted to integrate the Tigrigna speaking
highlands of Eritrea with Tigray to form a separate state.
 Therefore, in September 1945 at the London conference of
Allied powers Ethiopia’s claims to Eritrea and Ogaden were
rejected.
 The territorial issues were resolved only after a decade.
 In 1948, the British left parts of Ogaden, and in 1954, they
withdrew from the region.
 In Eritrea, people were divided;
 those who wanted a union with Ethiopia rallied behind the

Unionists.
 The Liberal Progressive Party and

 the Muslim League rallied people who sought for separation and

independence
 In 1948, Britain, France, USA and USSR referred the question

of Eritrea to the UN Security Council.

 The UN appointed a commission of five men from Burma,

Guatemala, Norway, Pakistan and South Africa to find out the

actual wishes of Eritreans.
1. Guatemala and Pakistan recommended granting independence
to Eritrea.
2. While Norway recommended union with Ethiopia,
3. South Africa and Burma recommended Federation.
 On December 2, 1950, UN Resolution 390V granted
the Federation of Eritrea with Ethiopia, which came
into effect in 1952 (which lasted in 1962)
 However, this arrangement did not satisfy both

unionists and the independence bloc; each side

seeking to unmake the federation to fit their respective
interests.
 On November 14, 1962, the Eritrean Parliament, under

pressure from the Ethiopian government, resolved to

dissolve the Federation and placed Eritrea under the
imperial umbrella.
B. Ethiopia and the USA
 The first official contacts between Ethiopia and the USA
traced back to 1903 when Ethiopia signed a Treaty of
Friendship and Commerce.
 In his efforts to ensure his sovereign political authority

from British domination, to modernize his country and

consolidate his power, Haile-Selassie I turned towards
the United States as a powerful ally than Britain in the
1950s.
 American interest in the region grow after they acquired a

communication base in Asmara known as Radio Marina

from the Italians.
 The radio station was later on renamed Qagnew after the
Ethiopian force that fought on the side of the Americans in the
Korean War (1950-3).
 In 1943, the Ethiopian vice Finance Minister, Yilma Deressa,
visited the US to request expertise to assist the country's
development.
 In response, USA extended the Lend-Lease Agreement with
Ethiopia and sent a technical mission led by Perry Fellows in
May 1944.
 Emperor Haile-Selassie I and the American President,
Franklin D. Roosevelt, met in Egypt at the beginning of 1945
 The two countries signed two agreements in the
1950s.
 First, the Point Four Agreement that enabled

subsequent American assistance in education and

public health was signed in 1952.
 Second, the Ethio-US Treaty that granted a continued

American use of the Qagnew base in return for

military assistance was signed in 1953.
 Following the 1953 treaty, the US launched a

military aid program named the American Military

Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) to equip
Ethiopia’s armed forces.
 The MAAG was to train 60,000 Ethiopian soldiers in
three separate divisions.
 By 1970, 60% of US military aid to Africa went to

Ethiopia.
 In the period between 1946 and 1972, US military aid

was over 180 million US Dollar.

 Civil aviation, road transport, and education were

other spheres that the Americans took active part.

 an agreement was concluded with Transcontinental and

Western World Airline (TWA) that established

Ethiopian Air Lines (EAL) in 1946.
 The Imperial Board of Telecommunication was
established with the help of International Telephone
and Telegraph (ITT) organization between 1950 and
1952.
 In January 1951, with financial loan from the

International Bank for Reconstruction and

Development (IBRD), the Imperial High Way
Authority (IHA) was set up.
 In the field of education, scholarship offered for

many Ethiopians for second and third Degrees. Many

American volunteers came to Ethiopia to teach in
Ethiopian schools under the Peace Corps Program.
7.1.2. Socio-Economic Developments

 In the 20th century, agriculture remained the leading

economic sector in
 providing employmentforabout90%of the population,
 generating about seventy percent of the national GDP and
 supplying almost hundred percent of the country’s income
from export trade.
 Therefore, the landholding that was a primary means of production was
vital. Generally, peasants in the northern and central highland parts of
Ethiopia held land in the form of rist.
 In southern Ethiopia, government grants were made by the Government
for large number of its supporters and tenancy was widespread.
 Tenants surrendered up to 60 percent of their produce to landlords who
mostly lived in towns or the capital.
 Since the 1950s, the government formulated strategic
plans for economic development and this came in a
series of five-year plans.
 The First Five Year Plan (1957-1961) targeted the

development of infrastructure.
 The Second (1962-1967) turned towards mining,

manufacturing and electricity.

 The Third (1968-1972) gave priority to large-scale

agricultural development and ‘bringing higher living

standard’.
 Following these plans, the Ethiopian economy witnessed some
progress particularly after 1950.
 Domestic output increased nearly three and a half times and even
better progress was registered in manufacturing.
 The number of industrial enterprises grew to over four hundred and
the industrial working force to nearly sixty thousand.
 The electricity supply and infrastructure expanded considerably.
Road and air communication enabled linkage of parts of the
country.
 The emergence of new towns and the development of city life
hastened urbanization.
 Banking facilities expanded and the State Bank of Ethiopia was
formed in 1942.
 In 1963, it was divided into the Commercial Bank and the National
Bank of Ethiopia. Also a private bank, Addis Ababa Bank was
established in 1963.
 Yet, much of Ethiopia remained traditional with a low living standard and
Ethiopia was one of the least developed country in the world.
 While the manufacturing sector contributed less than five percent of the

national income, industrialization was spatially limited in the capital and its
vicinity in addition only to Asmara and Dire Dawa.
 The manufacturing sector only produced light consumer goods.

 Moreover, industrial investment was also primarily of foreign origin.

Consolidation of Autocracy
 The post-liberation period witnessed the climax of the emperor’s power.

After he was restored to the throne in May 1941, Emperor Haile-Selassie

embarked on consolidating his power.
 This was made possible through the bureaucratization of government, the

building of a national army and a centralized fiscal system.

 In order to fill-in the expanding bureaucracy, education was promoted at both

school and college levels

 The post-1941 political order was dominated by Haile-Selassie
that both the state and the country came to be identified with the
emperor.
 Significant urban landmarks such as schools, hospitals, theatre
halls, stadiums, main avenues and squares in the country bore
the name of the Emperor.
 The imperial regime was strengthened the military and security
apparatus.
 The ministries of Defense and Interior, in charge of maintaining
public security, consistently received the highest budgetary
allocations.
 The traditional aristocracy, although made to enjoy
urban and rural property, had lost most of its political
privileges.
 Based on the traditional shum shir, the emperor

appointed and demoted his ministers, most of whom had

humble origins.
 In 1943, the emperor appointed eleven ministers to draft

laws and appoint junior officials. For example, it was

only in 1966 that even the prime minster was allowed
to select his cabinet members to be approved by the
emperor.
 Ras Bitweded Mekonnen Endalkachew served as
prime minister from 1942.
 Next to Mekonnen Habte-Wold (1949-58), whose

brother, Aklilu, became the last prime minister of the

imperial regime (1961-1974), Yilma Deressa left the
strongest mark on the Ministry of Finance.
 But the most powerful of the ministers in the post-1941

political order was Tsehafe-Tizaz Wolde-Giorgis

Wolde-Yohannis who headed the strategic Ministry of
Pen in the period 1941-55.
 In general, members of the royal family, leading nobility
and the Abun still were members of the crown council.
 In 1955, Haile-Selassie promulgated a new constitution,

revising the first constitution issued in 1931.

 American advisers like John Spencer as well as Tsehafe-

Tizaz Wolde-Giorgis WoldeYohannis and Tsehafe-

Tizaz Aklilu Habte-Wold were in the drafting
committee of the 1955 revised constitution.
 More than its predecessor, the 1955 revised constitution

provided the basis for the consolidation of absolutism

in Ethiopia.
 The emperor was head of the three branches of
government: the executive, the legislative and the
judiciary.
 Human rights and civil liberties were restricted and

violated.
 Regional identities, needs and feelings were ignored in the

interest of centralization.
 As the years progressed, the emperor started to dedicate

his attention to foreign affairs. He played a significant

role in the Non-Aligned Movement and Organization
of African Unity.
 But his preoccupation with international affairs detached

the emperor from the domestic affairs.

 7.1.3. Oppositions and the Downfall
of the Monarchical Regime
A. Plots and Conspiracies
I. Dejazmach Belay Zeleke
 One notable patriot who resented the fact that he was not given a stature

recognizing his contribution to the Resistance was Dejazmach Belay Zeleke.

 The emperor made Belay governor of a southern province of Gojjam because

he wanted to remove him from his base in Bichena in eastern Gojjam.

 Belay rejected the offer and was even more dissatisfied at dignified positions of

Ras Haylu Belaw (Governor General of Gojjam) and Bitweded Mengesha

Jembere (Deputy Governor General of Gojjam).
 In February 1943, forces from Debra-Marqos and Addis Ababa invaded

Belay’s district.
 After fighting for three months, Belay surrendered, was detained in Fiche

from where he tried to escape and return to Gojjam a few months later, but
was captured with his brother Ejigu. Taken back to the capital, Belay was
finally hanged in public.
II. Bitweded Negash Bezabih
 He was a vice minister and Senate President in the

emperor’s administration after liberation. He plotted to

assassinate the emperor and proclaim a republic in 1951.
 In the process, some military officers like Beqele

Anasimos were attracted to the plot, but Dejach Geresu

Duki, another patriot, whom the plotters had
unsuccessfully approached to recruit to their cause,
exposed them.
 Finally, the plotters were tried and sentenced to various

terms of imprisonment after being arrested during one of

their clandestine meetings.
III. Blatta Takele Wolde Hawaryat
 The most fierce and sustained opposition to the emperor

came from Blatta Takele WoldeHawaryat, who hatched

a plot in constitutionalist terms using Yohannes Iyasu
as front. But the plot was uncovered and he was detained.
 In 1945, Blatta Takele Wolde-Hawaryat was released

and appointed as deputy Afe-nigus. Yet, he was involved

in another plot in 1946 and was detained up to 1954.
 He tried to assassinate the emperor on November 17,

1969, but his final plot failed and he barricaded himself

in his house and engaged in a shoot-out with the police in
which he was killed.
 IV. Abortive Coup d'etat of 1960
 The abortive coup d'etat of 1960 was led by the Neway

brothers, Brigadier General Mengistu and Germame.

 Garmame attended Haile-Sellasie I Secondary School,

and then the University of Wisconsin where he

received his B.A and M.A. Degrees from Columbia.
 As governor of Wolayta, Germame’s activities were

alarming to the regime. He monitored police activities,

introduced a settlement program in which he distributed
government holdings to landless peasants and ordered
written tenancy agreements. He was then summoned
back to Addis Ababa for explanation.
 However, unable to criticize Germame’s intentions
Haile-Selassie sent him to Jijiga where he continued as
radical reformer.
 Together with his brother General Mengistu Neway, the

head of the Imperial Bodyguard, and others the two

brothers started detaining ministers and other members
of the nobility when the emperor was on state visit in
Brazil.
 They also took over the radio station and spoke about the

backwardness of the country than newly independent

African states.
 The crown prince Asfawosen was declared to be a
salaried constitutional monarch. The prince
delivered a speech on Radio Addis explaining the
rationale of the coup in which he promised the
establishment of new factories, schools etc.
 On December 14, 1960, a new government was
declared that was to be headed by Ras Emiru Haile-
Selassie.
 Major General Mulugeta Buli was chosen as chief of

staff of the armed forces while Brigadier-General

Tsige Dibu was to lead the Imperial Bodyguard and
the Police Force, and Colonel Workneh Gebeyehu
was security chief.
 However, the army and the air force refused to side
with the rebels and with the support of the Americans
and the blessing of the patriarch, the loyalists led by
General Merid Mengesha, Ras Asrate Kassa etc
attacked the plotters.
 Finally, they had to run for their lives but only after

killing the ministers and other dignitaries they had

detained at Geneta L'uel palace.
 In the meantime, the emperor entered the capital.
 Finally, Garmame died fighting in the outskirts of

the capital and Mengistu was captured and hanged

after trial.
 B. Peasant Rebellions
1. The Woyane Rebellion
 The first peasant resistance against imperial rule took place in
Tigray, known in history as the Woyane rebellion. The term
Woyane means 'revolt' in Tigrigna language.
Causes of the rebellion
 corruption and administrative inefficiency
 greed of the Territorial Army unit stationed in the region
 The peoples of Wejjerat and Raya-Azebo had wanted to maintain
their local autonomy that the government violated.
 The 1942 land decree which forced peasants to pay tax arrears
 The nobility took advantage of the popular discontent against
government officials and their militias and put strong resistance
against government forces thanks to the able leadership of
Blatta Haile-Mariam Reda.
 Finally, the major confrontation took place on January 11, 1942
where the imperial force was defeated and humiliated by
Raya-Azebo peasants.
 On May 22, 1943, the rebels scored an astounding victory in Addi
Awuna, Soon small towns around Mekelle like Qwiha and Enda-
Iyyasus, and Meqelle itself on October 14, 1943 fell in rebel
hands. They then expanded to Kilte-Awlalo, Wuqiro etc in
eastern Tigray.
 Such initial advances of the rebel forces, however, did not last
long.
 In October 1943, the imperial army under the command of
Abebe Aregay with the support of the British Royal Air Force
crushed the rebellion.
2. The Yejju Rebellion
 Overt dissidence of Yejju peasants in Wollo during Haile-Selassie’s

rule occurred three times. In 1948, peasants rose against the system
after the government ignored their appeal against land alienation.
 With Qegnazmach Melaku Taye and Unda Mohammed in the

forefront, peasants stormed and freed inmates held in Woldya

prison.
 The nech lebash were called to quell the unrest and eventually the

leaders were publicly flogged. Throughout the 1950s, localized

skirmishes between government forces and peasants expanded to
Qobo, Hormat, Tumuga, Karra Qore etc. led by prominent figures
like Ali Dullatti (Abba Jabbi).
 In 1970, peasants revolted against the introduction of mechanized

agriculture that encroached on pastureland and killed Qegnazmach

Abate Haylu who was a member of the local nobility and direct
beneficiary of the new development. Finally, the rising was suppressed
by the local militia.
3.The Gojjam Peasant Rebellion
 In 1968, another violent peasant uprising set off in Gojjam

caused by the government’s attempt to implement new

tax on agricultural produce, which the parliament adopted
in November 1967.
 The then governor of Gojjam, Dejach Kebede Tesema,

initiated land assessment and classification to determine

taxation. He then raised tax rate.
 In 1950, a revolt broke out in Mota, Qolla-Daga Damot

and Mecha districts led by people like Dejach Abere

Yimam.
 As a result tax rate was reduced by 1/3, Kebede was

removed and replaced by Haylu Belew, a hereditary

ruler of Gojjam.
 Later, Haylu’s Shewan successor named Dejjazmach
Tsehayu Enqu-Selassie forced contributions to build
the emperor’s statue in Debra Marqos.
 It finally sparked the 1968 uprising led by veterans of

the resistance period.

 The government was forced to transfer Dejazmach

Tsehayu to Kafa, declare amnesty, abandon the new

tax, and cancel all tax arrears of taxation going back
to 1950.
 Despite these concessions, the rebellion spread

throughout Gojjam except Agaw-Midir and

Metekel, which alarmed the government.
 Finally the rebellion was subdued by the combined

forces of the army, police and nech lebash by the

end of 1968.
 4. The Gumuz Rebellion
 The Gumuz staged major armed rebellion against the
regime of Emperor Haile-Selassie in 1952/3.
 The movement is named after one of its famous
leaders, Abba Tone.
 Abba Tone armed uprising had its roots in
administrative injustice, land and taxation policies
of the imperial regime.
 Finally, an open clash broke out between the
policemen and the Gumuz when tax collectors with
the backing of the police force attempted to force the
people pay land taxes. Nevertheless, the government
was able to put down the uprising. Abba Tone was
captured and later released on pardon.
5. The Gedeo Peasant Rebellion
 The major source of peasant discontent in Gedeo was land alienation. In the
1960s, the Gedeo witnessed an unprecedented level of land expropriation such
as emperor’s daughter Princess Tenagneworq.
 Petitions and appeals to higher authorities to curb the land alienation proved
futile. Then peasants refused to pay erbo armed themselves and clashed with
the imperial army at Michille in 1960. Over a hundred peasants lost their
lives in the fight.
6. Bale Peasant Rebellion
 The Bale peasant uprising, which lasted from 1963 to 1970, presented the
most serious challenge to the Ethiopian government.
 The causes of the uprising were multifaceted. Peasants largely became
tenants after the introduction of the qalad in 1951.
 high taxation, religious and ethnic antagonism that reached to
unprecedented level after the appointment of Warqu Enqu-Selassie as
governor in 1963.
 Somalia’s material and moral support to the rebels as part of its strategy of re-
establishing a “Greater Somalia”.
 The revolt broke out in El Kerre led by people like Kahin Abdi.
Initially, rebel groups conducted hit-and-run raids.
 It quickly spread to Wabe, Dallo and Ganale under the able
leadership of Waqo Gutu and others.
 The rebels killed Girazmach Beqele Haragu of Adaba and
Fitawrari Wolde-Mika’el Bu’i of Dodola in 1965 and 1966
respectively.
 In December 1966, the government put Bale under the martial rule
of Wolde-Selassie Baraka.
 In 1967, the army, police, Territorial Army (beherawi tor),
settler militia (nech lebash) and volunteers (wedo zemach)
launched massive operations against the province.
 The rebellion ended in 1970s after some of its popular leaders
including the self-styled General Waqo Gutu surrendered to
government forces.
 C . Movements of Nations and Nationalities
1. Mecha-Tulama movement
 In January 1963, the Mecha-Tulama Welfare Association (MTWA) was
formed with the objective of improving the welfare of the Oromo
through the expansion of educational, communication and health
facilities in Oromo land.
 Founding members of the association included Colonels Alemu Qitessa
and Colonel Qedida Guremessa, Lieutenant Mamo Mezemir, Beqele
Nedhi, and Haile-Mariam Gemeda.
 In the next two years, the association attracted large number of Oromo
elites, including such high-ranking military officers as Brigadier General
Taddesse Birru.
 Although the Association had its root in the development of Oromo
inhabited territories, it soon transformed into a pan-Oromo movement
coordinating peaceful resistance against the regime.
 The regime was alarmed by the activities of the association and determined
to curb the movement before it crystallized into an organized liberation
front.
 Meanwhile, leaders of the association plotted to assassinate the emperor and
change the regime on the anniversary of his coronation in November 1966,
 Mecha-Tulama was dissolved in 1967 following the imprisonment and
killing of its prominent leaders such as Mamo Mezemir and Haile-Mariam
Gemeda by the regime’s forces.
 Brigadier General Taddese Birru exiled to Gelemso where he stayed until
the outbreak of the 1974 revolution. In 1975 the Derg executed Tadesse on
allegation of instigating armed struggle.
 The brutal suppression of the Mecha-Tulama Association, however, did not end
the struggle of the Oromo for justice, equality and liberty.
 In 1971, an underground movement called the Ethiopian National
Liberation Front (ENLF) was formed by Oromo elites, perhaps by former
members of the association.
 In 1973, some members of the ENLF and other Oromo nationalists formed
the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) with the aim of establishing an
independent State of Oromia. The following year, OLF launched an
offensive against the imperial regime in Hararghe. Accordingly, the armed
struggle, which set off in the eastern part of Ethiopia, extended to other
Oromo inhabited areas such as Arsi and Wallagga.
 2. Eritrean liberation movements
 In 1958, a number of Eritrean exiles founded the Eritrean Liberation
Movement (ELM) in Cairo. In 1961, the ELM evolved into the Eritrean
Liberation Front (ELF) or Jabaha in Arabic. Hamid Idris Awate who
fired the first bullet of the Eritrean armed struggle.
 By 1966 the ELF challenged imperial forces throughout Eritrea.
 In June 1970, two splinter group liberation movements emerged from the
ELF. These were the Popular Liberation Forces (PLF) and the Salfi
Natsenet Eritrea (Front for Eritrean Independence). The PLF was
formed in the Red Sea area led by Osman Salah Sabbe while Salfi
Natsenet Eritrea (Front for Eritrean Independence) emerged under the
leadership of Isayas Afeworqi.
 In early 1972, a new coalition of forces composed of Eritrean Liberation
Front-Popular Liberation Front (ELF-PLF) led to the founding of the
Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) or Sha'abiya in Arabic.
 After a long and bloody civil war, the EPLF was able to establish its
hegemony over the independence movement.
 Finally, the EPLF succeeded in achieving de facto independence in 1991
and which eventually was confirmed through referendum in 1993.
D. The Ethiopian Student Movement (ESM)
 In fact, the Ethiopian student movement was a strong opposition

against the regime. Although the movement started within the

university, students had turned into a radical opposition and were
already marching on the streets from 1965 onwards and was
spreading to the high schools by 1968.
 The parliament’s rejection of tenancy reform bill in 1964

triggered student protest in the following year demanding

“Land to the Tiller.”
 Factors that contributed to sharpening the students’ ideology

include:-
 the 1960 coup, students’ increased awareness of the country’s

socio-economic and political conditions

 influence from other African countries through scholarship

students Ethiopian University Service (EUS) Launched in

1964.
 In 1964, the emergence of a radical group of students with
Marxist-Leninist leanings known as “the Crocodiles” marked the
increased militancy of the students.
 Side by side with the radicalization of the movement, students
formed the University College Union (UCU) to coordinate
their activities in 1962 and then the National Union of
Ethiopian University Students (NUEUS) in 1963.
 The Main Campus Student Union (MCSU) and the University
Student Union of Addis Ababa (USUAA) with its paper Tagel
(Struggle) were established in 1965 and 1968 respectively.
 Outside the country, students were organized under the
Ethiopian Students Union in North America (ESUNA) with
its paper called Challenge and the Ethiopian Students
Union in Europe (ESUE) with its paper Tateq (Gird
yourself) in the USA and Europe. ESUNA and ESUE gave
ideological support to MCSU and USUAA.
 Throughout the 1960s, a rallying cry of student
demonstrations was “land to the tiller”, but other local and
global issues were also raised.
 Students protested against

 the minority white regime in Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe)

in 1968,
 expressed their solidarity with the people of Vietnam

 Shola Destitute Concentration Relief Camp

 fashion show at the university campus and educational reform.

 With the students’ demands for the respect of the rights of nations and
nationalities, the government was started taking measures against leaders of the
movement ranging from press campaigns to detentions and killings.
 Furthermore, the regime deported large number of students to the torrid Gibe
river valley in 1972. Meanwhile, students’ opposition was aggravated to armed
hijacking of transport aircrafts.
 By early 1970s, the student movement coupled with other under-running issues
such as rising inflation, growing discontent of urban residents, corruption and
widespread and yet covered-up famine especially in Wollo all prepared a fertile
ground for a revolution.
7.2. The Derg Regime (1974-1991)
 The mass uprising that finally put an end to the old regime came in

February 1974.
 From January 8 to 15, 1974, soldiers and non-commissioned officers

stationed at a frontier post in Negele Borana mutinied protesting their

bad living conditions.
 Finally, the mutiny of different divisions of the army in Asmara and

Addis Ababa and the air force in Debre Zeit brought a serious challenge
to the state. This time soldiers did not only demanded salary increases,
but also asked for political and economic reforms.
 The various units then set up a coordinating committee, which became a
precursor of the later Derg, in order to coordinate their actions.
 Teachers throughout the country protested against the implementation of an
education reform program known as Sector Review.
 Taxi drivers went on strike demanding increase in transport fees (fifty
percent) due to rise of petrol prices that followed the Arab-Israeli Yom
Kippur war of 1973.
 Students, workers and the unemployed youth joined the protests, vehicles
particularly buses, and luxury private automobiles were attacked. The
government responded by suspending the Sector Review, reducing petrol
prices and raising the salaries of soldiers.
 In spite of this, the uprisings continued and on February 28, the cabinet of
Prime Minister Aklilu Habte-Wold resigned.
 He was replaced by Endalkachew Mekonnin who was an Oxford-educated
member of the aristocracy.
 Although Endalkachew promised constitutional reform and included
highly educated and progressive ministers into his cabinet, the protests
continued. On March 8, the Confederation of Ethiopian Labor Unions
(CELU) staged a successful general strike.
 About 100,000 Muslim residents of the capital and their
Christian sympathizers who came out demanding religious
equality held a major popular demonstration on April 20.
 The Muslim community demonstrated against the age old

discrimination they suffered.

They demanded that;
 Muslim courts be recognized by law;

 muslin holidays be nationally celebrated;

 separation of state and church; to form associations;

 allowed to broad cast over the radio and television;

 to be given equal opportunities of employment in the civil,

military and diplomatic services

 In the meantime, the soldiers, through their various
committees, were also taking their own measures.
 The coordinating committee of soldiers and Non-

Commissioned Officers (NCOs) set up in February

were joined by officers, such as Colonel Alem Zewd
Tessema of the Airborne Brigade, who then became
its leader.
 In April, the Committee arrested Aklilu and hundreds

of other high-ranking officials of the regime.

 The Minister of Defense, Lt. General Abiy Abebe

set up the National Security Commission to restore

order and respect for the authority of the government.
 The leading opposition against the Endalkachew cabinet
were the students. Nevertheless, the students were less
organized to achieve their goals and eventually, the
soldiers hijacked the struggle.
 The Derg was formed on June 28, 1974. “Derg” a

Ge’ez word for “Committee” was the name given to the

Coordinating Committee of representatives from various
military units.
 Major Mengistu Haile-Mariam of the Third Division

of Hararghe, and the vice-chairman, Major Atnafu

Abate of the Fourth Division, came to be key figures.
 For some time the Derg exercised power parallel with the
Endalkachew’s cabinet. Gradually derg began to take several
measures such as:
 on August 1, Endalkachew was imprisoned and replaced by Lej
Mikael Emiru as prime minister.
 arrested other members of the regime whom it considered
obstacles to the revolution.
 define its ideology and declared the motto, “Ethiopia Tikdem”
(“Ethiopia First”), “Yaleminim Dem” (“Without any
bloodshed”).
 Two enterprises, Anbessa Bus Company and the St. George
Brewery were nationalized.
 British documentary film disclosed the hidden horrors of the Wollo
famine precisely served the awaited interest of the Derg.
 Finally, on September 12, Emperor Haile-Selassie I was
deposed and detained at the Fourth Division headquarters.
 The Derg then proclaimed itself the Provisional Military
Administrative Council (PMAC) and assumed full
powers.
 All strikes and demonstrations were immediately

banned. Very soon, civilian revolutionaries, who had

started calling for the establishment of a provisional
people’s government, started gathering around the
Confederation of Ethiopian Labor Unions (CELU), the
University teachers’ group known as Forum, and the
students. Sections of the military, the Army Engineers
Corps, the First Division (the former Bodyguard), and
the Army Aviation opposed what was to become a
military government.
 However, the Derg imprisoned the leaders of CELU and a
leader of the Forum group. On October 7, a militant group
within the Army Engineering Corps was violently crushed
in a tank assault, which took the lives of five soldiers. The
motto of “Ethiopia First, without any bloodshed” thus
failed as early as then.
 On November 23, an even more violent phase

commenced.
 Lieutenant General Aman Mikael Andom, chairman of

the PMAC was shot dead after a disagreement within

the Derg over the Issue of Eritrea.
 The Derg announced execution of some 52 prominent

members of the old regime.

7.2.2. Attempts at Socio-Economic Reform
 The Derg took a series of measures that aimed at fundamentally

transforming the country.

 In December 1974, what was called the Edget Behibiret Zemecha

was inaugurated.
 In 1975, banks and insurance companies were nationalized. Finally,

in March 1975 the Derg made a radical land reform proclamation,

it abolished all private land ownership
 The proclamation also provided the establishment of peasant

associations.
 On 26 July1975 another proclamation nationalized all urban

lands and extra houses.

 The campaigns showed Derg’s belief in mass
mobilization to achieve a cause.
 There was the “Green Campaign” of 1978 aimed at

bringing about rapid economic development,

 the literacy campaign aimed at eradicating illiteracy,

and
 the “Red Star Campaign” of 1982 that aimed at

solving the Eritrean problem.

 Of these campaigns, only the literacy campaign

registered some degree of success.

 The land reform proclamation did put an end to

landlord exploitation but it failed to make the peasant

master of his land.
 The Derg used peasant associations to control the countryside and the
urban dwellers’ associations (kebele) to control the towns.
 The kebele became battleground when the struggle between the Derg
and the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Party (EPRP) (formed
in Berlin in 1972) reached its bloodiest phase in 1976/7.
 The EPRP targeted kebele leaders and assassinated them while they in
turn led the government’s campaign of terror against the EPRP called
the “Red Terror”, as opposed to the “White Terror” of the EPRP.
 Initially, the leftist opposition to the Derg came from two rival
Marxist-Leninist political organizations called the EPRP and the All-
Ethiopian Socialist Movement (acronym in Amharic, Meison).
 In the meantime, the Derg pushed by the dominant leftist political
culture systematically abandoned “Ethiopian socialism” and
embraced Marxism-Leninism.
 With the setting up of the POMOA, Derg proclaimed the National
Democratic Revolution Program, which was the Chinese model
for socialist revolution and had identified feudalism, imperialism,
and bureaucratic capitalism as the three main enemies of the
people.
 In a few months, Derg’s leftist political organization
known as Abyotawi Seded (Revolutionary Flame) was
launched.
 In 1977, an alliance called Emaledeh (the Union of

Ethiopian Marxist–Leninist Organizations) was established

as prelude to the formation of one vanguard party.
 The Emaledeh was composed of Marxist Leninist

Revolutionary Organization (MLRO, Malerid), Meison,

Abyotawi Seded (Revolutionary Flame), Wezlig (Workers
League) Dr. Senay, Malerid (the Ethiopian Marxist–
Leninist organization) and Ech’at (the Ethiopian
Oppressed Masses Revolutionary Struggle) founded by
Baro Tumsa.
 In late 1976, the Derg itself was ideologically divided and beset with
the internal struggles.
 Mengistu had eliminated two powerful members of the Derg and
potential rivals of his power and influence, Major Sisay Habte and
Major Kiros Alemayehu.
 On February 1977 Brigadier General Teferi Benti chairperson of
the Derg and other anti-Mengistu Derg members were executed.
 Mengistu Haile Mariam assumed the chairmanship of the Derg and
the post of commander-in-chief of the armed forces. He then filled
the top positions in the Derg with his loyal supporters.
 Within just a year, Lt. Colonel Atnafu Abate, was charged of
impeding the revolutionary process and executed.
 Then Mengistu and his civilian left allies unleashed what they called
the “Red Terror” initially targeting the EPRP and later on EPLF ,
TPLF and Meison.
 In the summer of 1977, the government of Somalia led by Siad
Barre waged a large-scale war against Ethiopia. The Somalia Army
crossed the border taking control of Jigjiga and the cities of Harar
and Dire Dawa were endangered.
 The government mobilized a force of about 100,000 peasant militia
and other forces that were trained at Angetu, Didessa, Hurso, Tateq
and Tolay in a short time with the help of USSR advisors and
equipment.
 Finally, with 17,000 Cuban troops and the help from Southern
Yemen Democratic Republic, the Somalia National Army was
defeated at Kara-Mara near Jigjiga on March 4, 1978.
 The aggression of Somalia made it possible for the Derg to
rally the population to its side.
 In early 1977, the Derg had severed relations with the USA.
Mengistu concluded agreements with Moscow for
economic, cultural and military co-operation.
 In the north, Eritrean insurgents had encircled Asmara while
a pro-monarchy organization, the Ethiopian Democratic
Union (EDU), was marching inroads from the Sudan in the
Satit-Humera region.
 Yet, by the end of 1978, the EPRP had been contained in the
towns and the Eritrean insurgents were pushed back. EDU
was crushed near the Ethio-Sudan borderland in places like
Metema, Abder Raffi and Satit-Humera.
 The Union of Ethiopian Marxist-Leninist Organizations fell
apart once Meison defected the Derg and its leaders were
consequently either killed or arrested.
 The other three member organizations Ech’at, Wezlig,
and Malerid were successively expelled from Emaledeh
and their leaders and members executed or detained.
 It was only Mengistu’s Seded that remained as the

authentic Marxist-Leninist organization in the country.

 In December 1979, the Commission for Organizing the

Party of the Working People of Ethiopia (COPWE) was

established.
 In September 1984, the Workers’ Party of Ethiopia was

inaugurated. It was a given that Mengistu became the

new party’s secretary-general.
In order for the government to have a more direct
societal control,
 on January 6 1977, the CELU was replaced by a

government-controlled All Ethiopia Trade Union

(AETU),
 formation of the All Ethiopia Peasants’ Association

(AEPA), which ensured the government’s control over

peasants.
 Established in 1980, the Revolutionary Ethiopian

Women’s Association (REWA) and Revolutionary

Ethiopian Youth Association (REYA), rallying women
and the youth behind the state.
 The Shengo (PMAC National Assembly) proclaimed the
People’s Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (PDRE) in 1987.
With the birth of the PDRE, the Derg officially ceased to
exist.
 A typically Communist constitution already on its way,

Colonel Mengistu became President of PDRE, secretary

general of WPE and Commander in chief of the national
armed forces with Fisseha Desta as Vice President and
Fiqre-Sellassie Wegderes head of the Council of Ministers
as Prime Minister with five deputies.
 Finally, it turned out that Mengistu could not stay in power

more than four years after he was proclaimed president of

PDRE.
 The dictator fell under the attack of rural-based guerrilla
movements fighting for national self-determination.
These included the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), active
mainly in the Wallagga region, the Islamic Front for
Liberation of Oromia, based in Hararghe, the Afar
Liberation Front, the Sidama Liberation Front, the Beni-
Shangul Liberation Front and the Gambella Liberation
Front.
 The two significant liberation fronts which could be

considered to have jointly brought about the downfall of

the Derg were the EPLF and the TPLF.
 In 1984/5, a more devastating famine than the one in

1973/4 indicated the failure of the Derg’s economic

policies especially in agricultural production and marketing.
 The state responded by resettling the affected people in
less affected areas mostly of Tigray and Wollo
provinces, of western Ethiopia.
 The villagization program that followed the
resettlement further alienated the majority of peasants. It
was in this context that the guerrilla forces scored
remarkable victories.
 International politics too had turned against Mengistu’s

interest as his ally, the Soviet Union ceased to be the

source of his external support.
 In March 1990, the Derg proclaimed a mixed

economy policy, which seemed to come too late.

 the Derg turned its forces to the north, with the rather too assured
slogan that “the victory scored in the east will be repeated in the
north.”
 Initially the derg pulled back the rebel’s to their major strongholds
in 1976/7 at Naqfa in northern Eritrea.
 In March 1988, EPLF scored a major victory at Afabet, north of
Asmara. In 1990, EPLF forces captured the port town of
Massawa.
 The final decisive blow to Mengistu’s regime came to be
administered by the TPLF that aimed to secure the self-
determination of Tigray.
 The TPLF started in February 1975 as a small guerrilla band in
the northern region of Ethiopia.
 In February 1989 TPLF scored its most decisive
victory at Enda-Selassie, Western Tigray, after a
series of other military successes.
 At the victory of Enda-Selassie, tens of thousands of

government troops were captured. This resulted in the

withdrawal of all government troops from Tigray.
 In May 1989, commanders of almost all military units,

coordinated and led a coup against Mengistu when he

left the country on a state visit to the East Germany.
 However, the coup was so poorly organized and failed.

The coup leaders were imprisoned or executed.

 TPLF, after liberating Tigray, continued to move forward and
made the necessary organizational adjustments forming a bigger
front known as the Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic
Front (EPRDF).
 The member organizations were TPLF, the Ethiopian People’s
Democratic Movement (EPDM), the Oromo People’s Democratic
Organization (OPDO) and the Ethiopian Democratic Officers’
Revolutionary Movement (EDORM).
 In 1990 and 1991 in consecutive and stunning campaigns, EPRDF
forces drove the Derg out of Gondar, Gojjam, and Wollo and parts
of Wallagga and Shewa and approached the capital from the north
and west.
 On May 21, Mengistu fled the country first to Nairobi and
then to Harare (Zimbabwe).
7.3. Transitional Government
 On 1 July 1991, a handful of organizations of which many were

organized along ethnic lines assembled to review the draft

Charter prepared by the EPRDF and the OLF. The gathering was
called the Peace and Democracy Transitional Conference of
Ethiopia.
 The Conference debated and approved the Transitional Charter

on the basis of which the Transitional Government of Ethiopia

was created.
 Representatives of 27 organizations formed a Council of

Representatives (COR) which acted as a legislative body

(‘Parliament’). This transitional parliament had 87 seats of which
32 were taken by the EPRDF and the remaining 55 seats were
divided among the 23 non-EPRDF organizations.
 A Council of Ministers was formed as an executive branch, with Meles
Zenawi as the President of the Transitional Government of Ethiopia
(TGE).
 Meles Zenawi then appointed a Prime Minister (Tamirat Layne) and a
seventeen-member Council of Ministers. Key posts were given to
members of the EPRDF and OLF.
 In December 1994, the constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic
of Ethiopia (FDRE) was ratified, taking effect following federal elections
in mid-1995. After the election, Meles Zenawi assumed the
premiership while Dr. Negasso Gidada became head of state.
Meanwhile, EPLF set up a Provisional Government of Eritrea in 1991.
 This was followed by a referendum to decide the fate of Eritrea in which
the majority of the population voted for independence from Ethiopia.
 In May 1993, the Government of Eritrea was formed with Isayas
Afwerki becoming the first president of the country after independence